We need to talk about the broken food system

An unfettered free market has not made our farming and food better. It’s eroded our health, our access to affordable, nutritious food, blighted the natural environment and exacerbated climate change.

Some problems are too complicated, too big or just too political for Westminster’s bureaucracy to fix. The broken food system is one of these. The government-commissioned National Food Strategy aimed to change all this, but it floundered over concerns about a ‘Nanny State’ telling us what to eat. So what do we, the British public actually want? A major project now aims to find out. 

Over the past year, The Food Conversation has bought together more than 300 citizens from all walks of life and regions of society in six workshops via a civic lottery of 118,000 individuals, similar to the Climate Assembly.  Each representative group has discussed what people really want from their food. Citizens have heard from experts, listened to case studies and considered 38 different policies. 

“There has been this prevailing narrative from UK governments that they should not intervene, interfere, set high standards, or be responsible for what the public eats. Yet, we know from these dialogues that this is blatantly not true. The fact is no one has ever asked the British public what they want –  until now. Our evidence shows that people want the exact opposite – they’re demanding direct action in this issue and support from Westminster,” explains Mhairi Brown, Head of Food Futures at the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, (FFCC) who conducted these conversations.

The goal of this project has been to explore what people make of some of the big issues around food security, healthy eating and the sustainability of farming. Right now, this is a hot topic with the House of Lords publishing a new report demanding that the UK government fix our “broken food system.”

The numbers speak for themselves: the poorest fifth of the UK population need to spend 70 per cent of their disposable income on food in order to afford a healthy diet, according to The Food Foundation. Only 12% of children aged 11 to 18 eat five fruit and vegetables a day. Over seven million people, or 11 per cent of the population are in food insecure households; it’s no wonder the nation needs a serious, grown up conversation about food systems. 

It’s interesting so see that there’s now an invite from the government for all of us to join the biggest national conversation about the state of the broken NHS. Why not one on our broken food system? Mhairi Brown, Head of Food Future, FFCC

“This has been the largest ever UK citizen deliberation on this topic. This is a burning issue right now. We have a food industry worth more than a £100 billion, yet many people go to bed hungry. Farmers are struggling. The cost of diet-related, ill-health is spiralling out of control. Take obesity – every government since 1992 has missed targets to reduce it, despite publishing 14 strategies and implementing almost 700 policies. The status quo on food and farming isn’t working,” details Brown.  

Lack of clear leadership

Some who took part in the Food Conversation were angry about the lack of access to affordable, healthy and nutritious food. Others were keen to come up with solutions for a fairer, greener system. Overwhelmingly, citizens want visible leadership from the UK government with a plan of action that joins up the different ministries and authorities: taking control of the food system is seen as vital. At the same time, the assemblies said they want businesses in the food sector to be held accountable for their actions.

“When citizens joined us, it was interesting to see that they already had strong views on the food system. They were also incredibly engaged on the issues. In some locations people told us how they used to have greengrocers, bakers and fishmongers in their local area, and now they just don’t have that anymore. They’ve all been pushed out by one or two retailers,” details Brown from the FFCC. 

She adds: “The assemblies have been very clear on the need to address that power imbalance in the food system. Citizens were aware that the choices and decisions they make are being shaped a lot by supermarkets, by marketing and by advertising. The system shouldn’t be just working for the huge food companies.”

The Food Conversation in action, with the Great Lincolnshire Food Partnership

There were also a number of other policy areas where citizens want to see action including investment in farming, so that farmers are paid fairly to produce food sustainably; legally binding food system targets and public reporting; junk food advertising bans across all platforms, mandatory nutrition and sustainability standards for public procurement; universal free and healthy school meals. And not least, taxation on unhealthy food and investment in the availability of healthy food.

“People have also asked for the appointment of a Food Minister or a Ministry of Food – an individual, and a government body that is responsible and accountable for progress on this issue. The goals and measures that are already in place for energy, education and housing should be in place for food as well,” details the Head of Food Futures at the FFCC. 

“What’s also really clear from these conversations is that people have a real and deep concern for farming and farmers themselves as human beings. They want support programmes for growers, and a dedicated budget that will help them to transition to more sustainable farming methods and that they get a fairer deal from supermarkets.”

It’s all about affordable access

Access to affordable fresh produce was another issue citizens taking part in The Food Conversation felt strongly about. Assemblies suggested that if more taxes were raised on unhealthy food, then this money should be used to promote access, say to nutritious, reasonably priced fruit and veg. 

This public discourse will culminate in The Citizen Food Summit on 19th November, when people will come together to call for change and present a fuller picture of the findings. The Food Conversation has certainly stirred emotions, and it’s only the beginning. 

A groundswell of new community conversations are now starting so that the issues surrounding food systems change are better understood, discussed and acted upon across the UK. Any local group interested in food can hold a meeting on this. 

Snippets of conversations, from the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership

The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission is teaming up with Sustainable Food Places and many other organisations, so that there are many more local dialogues on this issue. They’ve also produced toolkits to help groups conduct their own food conversations. There are lots of resources available allowing people to tailor their sessions to the needs of each community. 

“We’re often treated merely as consumers where most of us just want cheap food. We need to reframe this – we’re all citizens and stakeholders in our food and farming system. We’re all capable of barefoot advocacy for change. We need a paradigm shift. Now there is a chance for anybody, regardless of who or where they are, to get involved in dialogue,” expresses Mhairi Brown. 

“It’s interesting so see that there’s now an invite from the Minister of Health for all of us to join the biggest national conversation about the state of the broken NHS. Why don’t we have one on our broken food system? The Labour government is not going to achieve their five missions without fixing food, which is fundamental to the growth and development of the UK. In fact, food should have its own mission.”

A local groundswell of activity

From Chichester to Bradford, local food conversations are now up and running. The Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership has invited 22 people from across different communities to take part in their own dialogue. Mirroring the citizen assemblies conducted by FFCC, there’s been a broad acceptance that things are broken. 

The Lincolnshire group acknowledged that our food system is forcing hardship on farmers, suicide rates are high, with uncertainty, risks, and incomes far lower than most people realise and that experienced farmers are now being forced out of business. At the same time, nature is being depleted water is being polluted and greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise, with more people across the county, not able to access or afford nutritious, healthy food.

“It was really exciting to bring people together from diverse perspectives and to come up with solutions to some of the big questions  — how do we put a proper value on good, healthy food? A lot of people were angry about the lack of access to the very basics,” explains Laura Stratford, coordinator for the Greater Lincoln Food Partnership.

She adds: “The most important issue for our group also centred around good food education and good school food, as well as the need to heal the disconnect between the farming community, food producers and consumers. We would love to hold more of them. There is so much more to be said.” 

Local Food Conversations are also feeding back to the larger FFCC narrative, the aim is to collate all the findings and present them to the government as a plan of action from a UK citizens’ perspective. 

Some people may hate the idea of the nanny state. But the Food Conversation has shown us that a libertarian ideology and free market has left our food system in tatters. It’s the biggest brands, corporations and supermarkets who dominate and dictate the food fabric or our society – and we are much poorer for it. An unfettered free market has not made our farming and food better. It’s eroded our health, our access to affordable, nutritious food, blighted the natural environment and exacerbated climate change; Nanny would not approve. 


3 Comments

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  1. Excellent article. There is much support for such an initiative from ‘ordinary consumers’. Time for Government to listen to their wider electorate rather than focussing on the narrow interests of the supermarket lobby.

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  2. I lament the decline in cooking skills and lack of interest in our everyday food & where it comes from. This cannot entirely be blamed on schools no longer having kitchens where basic skills are taught. What is happening in our homes, I wonder? Not everything that comes out of the freezer is ultra processed. Fish, fruit and veg in mine, much of it bought in Aldi, so I didn’t pay over the odds for frozen berries, peas and runner beans and smoked haddock.

    Access to wholesome, nutritious food is in part a postcode lottery but the everyday ability to make attractive meals from what is seasonably available and therefore cost-effective isn’t widely practised. How can we redress this imbalance & make our nation healthier? I know Jamie Oliver has tried through his school meals campaign..how is this initiative being promulgated more widely?

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  3. The critical thing that makes it all so much more difficult is people’s lack of time. It rarely gets discussed because it is so hard to resolve. Even the most well-intentioned, well-educated, and concerned parents struggle to shop sympathetically and feed their families healthy meals, simply because they spend most of the week at work. There are work arounds like batch cooking at the weekend, but it takes a lot of organisation and planning. Most days parents have to make a choice between cooking a healthy meal / taking their children to an activity / helping with homework / doing some sport themselves / or actually just relaxing with their children.

    The problem in many ways is our broken housing system – if houses were more affordable, people could afford to work fewer hours, or could potentially choose for one parent to stay home rather than having to return to work. A few more available daylight hours in the week facilitates people shopping locally, cooking healthier meals, and wasting less food. Allowing two salaries to be included on a mortgage application had very far-reaching and unforeseen consequences.

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